Building your own PC is the only way to go

[richiekotzenrules]

The components in Dell, Compaq, Ibm and others are really subpar not to mention more expensive.

-They use integrated video, audio, ethernet, sometimes even RAM

This really kills performance and halts upgradeablily and performance.

Intregrated video is usually 40% slower then identical plugin card.
-When graphics and gaming come play these commercial PCs lag behind.

The margin is so low these days often 10% profit while 20 years ago their was a 100%. Those 20 year old IBM's are built like a tank and are still running. I replaced some just a few years ago. But sadly they don't make them like that anymore.

I good home built PC will be much faster for the money than any commercial PC. Anyone who is patient and careful can build a PC. Use common sence.

The big manufactures use the cheapest components they can.
-slow RPM hard drives with low cache.
-integrated everything.
-out of date pherprials. 6 months is out of date. I've seen 3 year old video cards in Dell's

ON TO HOW TO BUILD YOUR AFFORDABLE DREAM PC

Buy new parts. No refurbs/used. Make sure they have warranty.

Start with a ATX heavey metal or even better alluminium case.
-actually see that that case is not thin metal.
-get a good and attractive case because you can reuse the case year after year

-best will be if the power supple PSU is not included
-research a good 400 or 500 watt model such as antec($30). no cheap PSU's

-next decide what CPU you are going to use.
-this effects the rest of the purchase
-right now there is no beating AMD
-socket 939 either single or double core
-don't forget the CPU cooling fan. buy a nice quite one.

-then choose a mainboard that supports your CPU
-think upgrade-ability here. a few extra $$$ could mean years of life.

-choose correct RAM for you mainboard with regards to you CPU
-usually ok to go faster than your cpu as long as your board supports it.

-hard drive is the weakest link in the computer system. buy a serial ata S-ATA which is larger than you think need. The last 3/3 of you hard drive is about half and slow as the 1/3, 2/3. Leave it empty.
-Look for a drive that minimum 7200rpm and 8MB or more cache

-video card is very important if you do anything with graphics like games or multimedia. PCI-X is the way to go. AGP is older. Faster ram on the card matters more that more ram.

-sound card - most mainboard manufactures include audio which is good enough if you are not going to buy dolby surrond sound speakers. if you are then sound blaster audigy is the way to go.

-optical drive - either CDRW or DVDRW. makes sence to go DVDRW which is also do CDRW. Dual layer are cheap are single these days. You may want to spend a little more for a good DVDRW like plextor if you will be making lots of copies. this part of industy is focused too much on price and not quality. SATA is new with optical drives so go with IDE right now.
new mainboards have boths SATA and IDE. No speed difference with this application.

-built-in Ethernet 10/100/1000 for networking or DSL/cable internet. If this PC is an important network PC then go with an external card that you could replace easily. I've seen more 3com go than any.

-monitor LCD is the way to go. I hate widescreen though.

-optical mouse

-keyboard

-Operating system - OS - Today the way to go is Windows XP Pro for networked PC and Windows XP Home for home users. If you already have Windows you can legally reuse it if you take it off your old PC. But the Microsoft call in registration thing might hassle you.
-Linux is free but not as easy to use and not compatible with windows applications

That's about it. Be careful and have fun. I did and got a career out building a PC because I was a poor student who couldn't afford a store bought PC more than a decade ago.

[sanuanu]

Realy interesting informations.
I wish it was being provided to me year and a half before.

[noodlebunny]

Now i hae a question, I may be purchasing a PC that has integrated audio and integrated video but it is an AMD x2 4200+ Can I still replace the audio with my own soundcard and the video aswell?

[ganithguru]

While assembling an Intel 810 MB, with celeron processor, good RAM, I am not getting display(even the bios startup list). THis system was in good working condition before re-assembling. We removed all parts, re-assembled. What's wronG??

[richiekotzenrules]

Originally Posted by ganithguru

While assembling an Intel 810 MB, with celeron processor, good RAM, I am not getting display(even the bios startup list). THis system was in good working condition before re-assembling. We removed all parts, re-assembled. What's wronG??

-Is the monitor pluged in?
-are the pins on the monitor cable bent?

is the video card seated properly?
-with agp you will get a click

did you change any FSB or jumpers on the mainboard?

is the ram seated properly?
-you will hear a click too

try reseting the bios by moving it to clear for 10 seconds and back.

is the power cable on the mainboard atx or at?
-and is it on all the way. at is sometime hard to push it.

try removing all cards but the video and see if that works.

all else fails let me know.

[richiekotzenrules]

Originally Posted by noodlebunny

Now i hae a question, I may be purchasing a PC that has integrated audio and integrated video but it is an AMD x2 4200+ Can I still replace the audio with my own soundcard and the video aswell?

Sorry just saw your post.

Sure you can put your own sound card or video card if you have the slots empty on your mainboard.

Just disable them in bios.

If the system acts up and you get no video you could reset the bios to put things back to normal.

Let me know if you have questions.

[slutty87]

wow that's a bold statement, but i don't agree

the so called sub par standard PCs are underrated, they have veyr good models to choose from, and you can choose one that best suits your usage for the PC.

why get into so much trouble assmebling your own without warranty or delivery and such, gee, it's a modern world out there, get modern facilities, modern convenience, modern life!

unless you're really good at it, or really require special attention with your PC setup, go for consumer PCs like dell's and such, it will satisfy the majority of PC users like you and me out there,

[mrzodiac]

You can costumize your computer to if you build it yourself. I've built all of mine. It's alot cheaper also.

[colenn]

You can always build your own PC. Just find quality parts only. My current PC I've builted my self about 1.5 years ago (parts were cheap but quality was satisfying). It came 1/3 cheaper than same configurations in the PC stores (with same or simmilar parts).

You'll have to choose a quality motherboard first of all (I preffer Abit).
Fast processor (3.4GHz minimum).
More RAM 1GB or more.
Quality hard disk 200 or higher (SATA).
Optical media (manufacturer doesn't matter).
Graphic card with 512RAM preffered (Gygabyte or some other brand).
Some quality case and power suply.
And a monitor. :idea:

That would be my configuration and it would cost less than 800$ if buyed part by part and build by myself.

[hr1s7o]

It is always cheaper to assemble your PC by yourself. Right now I am buying a few new parts for my old pc and some people say why don't you just buy a new one? As I go through to configurations I can afford I always find one or more components not good enough for my needs. That's the good think about assembling you can make your computer as you please.

[astros99]

I am also upgrading my old computer. I went from 256 ram to 760. I hope to be up around 1.5 gigs of ram soon. I bought a dvd writer and put that in. I want to upgrade my hardrive soon from 40gb to 100+. I hate how in the stores they give like a 300 gb internal hardrive for around $80, but they wont give one smaller than $100 for under 30! That makes me mad! But yes, I agree. I hate the integrated sound, and PC manufacturers should do much better. Assembling or Upgrading your PC is the smart thing to do!

[misteralan]

why get into so much trouble assmebling your own without warranty or delivery and such, gee, it's a modern world out there, get modern facilities, modern convenience, modern life!

Thats not the point. I think you underestimate the benefits of doing it yourself. Assembling your own pc isn't a trouble at all. Its fun actually. And of course there's a warranty. The warranty is on every single pieces of hardware that you bought. So what if they don't deliver it right to your door step. You dont get your groceries delivered either, and its not a problem, right?

Yeah, its a modern world. And modern world charge you more over petty little things. As for some people, money maybe isn't a problem, still, why waste it when you can save it at the same time gets something way better according to your preferences. Every single little things are to your liking. Its cool.

[humpty]

very true misteralan, very true,
still, there are companies that lets you customize your parts too isn't it, while i can't argue the fun part of assembling it, the warranty part should be more convincing from a company like dell versus the warranty from a small time shop owner who lets you build from scratch right...


not quite sure but from my experience, shop owners guarantee their stuff, but when something happens, they just send it back to the company who provided the piece of equipment and they'll tell you to wait, so, in a loose way, they can't help much as they're not the ones offering you the warranty right?

some worst ones just give you a number and ask you to get it done yourself! uurrgghhhhhhh!!!!

[astros99]

Yeah thats about the only problem I can see with building it yourself. No warranty. No nothing. But to me it's a waste of money to buy a below average product and then just upgrade it. As long as you know what you are doing you should be fine. But never upgrade from the company. The prices are so over expensive. I wanted to upgrade RAM for might computer. The local electronic store had 512 for $30. I was pretty sure it was compatible. HP told me they'd give it to me for $70+ shipping. The manufacturer will usually overcharge.

[mini_0]

I think buliding a pc may sound pretty cool and easy , but it is just not or everyone , i read a survey that this is becoming a very popular practise , but more than half the people who build their own pc have some or the other kinds of problems , So i guess the best bet is to buy the parts and let an expert do the seembling for a small price .
Well the whole process is listed here -
Tips & Techniques For Building Your Own PC